The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-11
STONES.
Many OF Them That Arc Little
Known But Very valuabic-How
Diamonds Are Classincd-The
Emerald md the Sapphire.

"Mr. VIII Oskamp, what is one OF
the peculiarities of your %businessp'
"Our people have to be educated in
the matter of approaching certain valu-
able stones. The people of London
and New York are thoroughly posted
on the subject Of stones. and therefore
they know the value of them. Out
here the diamond is looked apon as the
most valuable; in fact, the only really
precious stone that there is. As n con-
sequence we labor under a disadvan-
tage, as compared with dealers in the
east. OF course. | know that there are
some here who are informed on the
subject of precious stones. but l mean
that as a class Il people have much to
learn. For instance, if | were to ask
almost anybody that came in here If he
would like to buy an Alexandrite he
would not know what | meant"
Tell me something about gemsP"
What is an Alexandrite?"
1T is dark green in color in day
light and dark red at night. 1t is
named after the czar of Russia, and
ows its celebrity to its prominent hues
of red and green. the chosen emblema-
tic colors of that empires flag"
''Is it true that you can't break q
diamondp"
"a diamond will crack or break as
any other stone, but the cracking will
reduce 81, 900 to nothing, spite OF the
vulgar tradition that you cant break a
diamond Only about one in ten is
royal, the others being black and col
ored (useful in the arts).'
"How do you get at the value OF
diamondsP"
1.-The valuation of gems is arbitrary,
depending On many considerations.
Among them is water. If perfectly
limpid like a drop of the purest water
it is classed first water Color comes
next. Colorless ranks highest, whitish
next, while the merest suspicion OF
green or blue rather brightens the
rank of the white stones. Rose comes
next, and then yellow or amber, but
they must all be perfect in water and
tlawless to rank among the first class.
what about agatesP'
"They are tran%slucent--all colors.
Agates are built up layer on layer.
sometimes hundreds to the inch. Those
stained by manganese or iron in moss
like figures and veins (moss agates),
sometimes closely resembling persons
and things, command very high prices"
"Can you give me a chapter on the
amethyst"
at is transparent purple or violet in
color. A cluster as mined generally
contains other crystals of blue, green,
yellow, red, gray and white. The red
crystals are properly rose quartz, the
are prase, the yellow false topaz and
the perfectly clear are rock crystals.
The finest rock crystals are found in
great numbers near Hot Springs, Ark,
in Diamond mountain
'What is n hard stone aside from the
diam ondP"
1.-THE aqumarine--a transparent beryl
Of greenish blue. 1t Is a lovely stone
sister of the emeI aid, and very hard.
1t will cut all the amethysts, but not the
topaz, and is not affected by acids. The
c~hrysoberyl (cat's eye) is very hard, but
ranks below saphires, rubies, etc. II is
transparent to translucent green in
many shades. The chrysoprase is APP
pie green, and some stones r very
beautiful and highly valued"
How does the emerald rankP"
THE translucent or subtransparent
and green variety Of the beryl, just as
the aauamorine Is the transparent and
blue variety, but it is very much more
highly priced, Emeralds rank next to
the diamonds, ruby, and finer sapphire
Oriental emerald is the green sapphire
very rare, very beautiful and valua-
ble."
Are there stones that can be passed
for a%notherp"
"The garnet, which Is transparent
and red, depends upon its value alto
gether on its looks, for it can often pass
rs a ruby"
What Is a b~loodstoneP"
"a variety of chalcedony of a deep
green color varigated with blood-red or
yellowish spotsl II is properly called
h~eliotrope."
Name some other stones. I've run
out.
"There is the hyacinth cinnamon
stone, transparent, yellow, red, and
brown. There are garnet hyacinths
and zircon h~yacinths. Although its in
trinsic qualities ought to rank the zircon
hyacinths first the market rates 1t sec
ond. Then there is the legalite (blue
spar). translucent and deep blue. Only
the fine varieties are valued for jew
elers' purposes. Next the malachite,
translucent green, used for clocks,
vases and parlor ornaments, slabs, etc.
| Mexican ONYX. translucent g~reenish